The pigheaded protagonists in Lane's latest romance (after Romancing Riley) behave like hormonally driven teenagers as they bumble their way toward a happy but highly improbable conclusion. Posing as a showgirl at Las Vegas's Silver Swan casino, ATF agent Rosie Malone is on a mission to find and arrest an illegal arms trafficker. Her primary suspect is a secretive stripper named Mack. Unbeknownst to Rosie, Mack is really an FBI agent, and he's after the same criminal she is. He, however, suspects her. Despite their suspicions, the foolhardy feds date and have hasty sex in a public area. Afterward, they become so wrapped up in sorting out their emotions that they miss obvious clues. Lane goes out of her way to convince readers of Rosie's competence ("Rosie went through the kind of careful analysis that had always impressed her superiors." "Rosie wasn't one for missing the point"), but Rosie's actions belie these statements. Indeed, she becomes even more mulish after Mack's identity comes to light. Mack is marginally more appealing, but he and Rosie spend too many pages fighting and working at cross purposes to render their 11th-hour declaration of love believable. A ludicrous conclusion and a saccharine epilogue are the icing on this half-baked offering. (Apr.)
